Your Best Friend
by GoshItsJosh
Summary: Asriel had grown up with these tales of humans, to the point where they were ingrained permanently in his mind. And yet not he, nor anyone, for that matter, had ever seen an actual human before. That is, until now. The complete backstory of Chara and Asriel, canon-compliant.
1. Fallen Down

Chapter 1: Fallen Down

"It sounded like it came from over here," Asriel muttered to himself, surveying his surroundings as he walked, his footsteps echoing in the cavernous hall. Just moments before he had been on his normal weekend trip to the spider bake sale—he didn't know what it was about them, but he just could not resist having a spider donut and a tall glass of spider cider for breakfast. Suddenly, however, the sleepy silence of the ruins had been perforated by a loud _thwump._

"What was that?" He asked sharply, but nobody answered. The spiders couldn't talk after all, even if they could make a mean donut. The sound had been muffled, far away…he guessed that it must have come from deeper in the ruins. His curiosity piqued, he quickly placed some gold in the web and strode out of the chamber. Asriel was not afraid of the ruins. He had come here many times, and he knew the layout pretty well. The puzzles, while at first intimidating, had become second nature for him. He munched his donut as he made his way towards the mysterious sound. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew from which chamber the sound had come, but as to what could have made it, he had no idea.

* * *

Asriel couldn't believe his eyes.

He had heard stories, gossip, rumors galore about humans from his friends and classmates here in the underground. They were something of a myth here, a legend that monsters discussed with a combination of awe and trepidation. Everyone knew the story. When humans and monsters had both lived on the surface, war had broken out. The monsters had lost, and seven human magicians had sealed them all underground with an unbreakable spell. However, all of that had transpired countless years ago. The underground was all that the monsters of today knew. Asriel had grown up with these tales of humans, to the point where they were ingrained in his mind. The story of the war was a particularly popular topic of discussion among his friends at school. His History class had even had an entire unit on the subject. And yet not he, nor anyone, for that matter, had ever seen an actual human before.

That is, until now.

Asriel rushed over to where the human lay. Weak beams of light illuminated their prone body, remnants of a sun that monsters could not see. It was exactly the place Asriel had suspected. It was his favorite place, a personal sanctuary, but one he rarely visited. He only came here when he was feeling particularly down, or particularly reflective. This was the last chamber of the ruins, nestled in a far distant corner, and it was dead silent save for when the wind whistled in from an opening high in the jagged, rocky roof. Asriel could think more clearly here. Often he would stare up at the tiny circle of light and imagine what it might be like on the surface. He thought it must be bright, brighter than anything he had seen down here—and yet alien.

Now that alien world had come to him.

"Oh, you've fallen down, haven't you?" Asriel crouched down beside the human, searching out any sign of injury. Their face was pale, their eyes closed; otherwise, they appeared unharmed. He placed a hand on their shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Mmnnh…" Their eyelids began to flutter.

"Here, get up." He grabbed the human's hand and pulled them up. They rose unsteadily to their feet, and Asriel had to throw an arm over their shoulder to make sure they didn't fall right back down.

They gazed blearily at Asriel, and then at their surroundings. Even with the lids half-closed, Asriel thought he could detect a hint of surprise in their eyes.

"I'm…alive?" The human said slowly.

"Yeah! There must have been some layers of magic up there that slowed down your fall—I'm not really sure, though. I'm not an expert on that stuff yet. Hopefully someday, though!" He grinned at the human. "Mom's really good at magic. She'll be able to teach me."

"Magic?" They sounded disoriented, half-lucid. That was understandable. They had just fallen between worlds, after all.

"Heh, yeah. I suppose I've got a lot to explain. But let's get back to the castle first, okay? There you can have a cup of tea, recover a bit. Plus, you'll get to meet Mom and Dad!"

"Oh…"

They walked a bit in silence, Asriel still supporting the human. He still hadn't wrapped his mind around the fact that this was a _human,_ a creature of monster legend. Looking at them, they didn't fit the image of a violent, ruthless jailor that he had constructed in his mind. Rather, they looked disheveled, and lost. Who would have thought…the first human to appear to monsterkind in millennia, and Asriel was feeling sorry for them.

"By the way," Asriel said, "I never asked your name."

A few more footsteps. Then…

"It's Chara."

"Chara, huh? That's a nice name. My name is Asriel Dreemurr."

* * *

 _Author Notes_

 _Let me know what you all think! I am currently working on Chapter 2 and beyond. As you can tell, this fic is going to flesh out the story of Chara and Asriel that we get in the neutral route. I am doing my best to keep Chara's gender neutral, but I am only human, so if I slip up, please point it out and I will change it! Reviews and feedback are appreciated. Stay determined!_


	2. New Home

Chapter 2: New Home

The entire way back to the castle, Asriel tried to engage Chara in conversation. Chara would give monosyllabic answers, or lower their head and not answer at all. Eventually Asriel lapsed into silence, his mind picking up right where his mouth had left off. He had so many questions he wanted to ask of them. How did you end up here? What is your story? Are you going to kill me? That's what humans do, isn't it? _Yeah, asking them about their murderous tendencies will definitely make them open right up,_ Asriel thought. _And besides…_ He glanced once again at Chara, their face impassive. _I don't actually believe that they would hurt me. If I did, I wouldn't have helped them out…right?_

Chara's steps had become much more steady by the time they turned the last corner, but they remained just as withdrawn. Asriel had hoped to see something—anything, really—that would give him a clue as to what they were thinking. Their silence was unnerving, although not in the sense that Asriel believed Chara posed any threat to him. It was the kind of feeling he supposed Mom must get when he promised he'd be back by three but didn't come back until four; that overwhelming fear of the unknown, that powerful sense of powerlessness. Asriel felt powerless. And even though he didn't owe anything to Chara—they had met less than an hour ago, for goodness sake—he was frustrated that he could not get through to them, worried about their well-being. He sensed that Chara coming here was the start of something big, and he had taken it upon himself to make sure that whatever this big thing was started out in the right direction.

"I thought you lived in a castle."

"What?" Asriel was jolted out of his thoughts. Chara was staring at the quaint little house that had loomed into view in front of them. It was the longest sentence they had said to him so far. "Oh, yeah. The castle is in the basement, actually."

Chara turned to him, confused. _Finally, emotion!_

"How can you fit a castle in your basement?"

Asriel grinned. "That sounds like a question for Dad. Come on, let's go!"

* * *

"Hey Mom! Dad!" Asriel called as he led Chara in through the front door.

"What is it, dear?"

"What's up, kiddo?

"I've got someone I'd like you to meet."

"Be there in a second!"

Asriel squeezed Chara's hand. "Don't worry. My parents are pretty cool."

"I'm not worried," Chara said.

"Uh—oh, all right…" said Asriel, flustered. Everything he said to them felt like it was the wrong thing to say.

"But…" Chara gave him the slightest of smiles, one that you would be unlikely to catch if you weren't looking properly. "Thanks anyway."

Asriel didn't know what to say next, but was spared from having to respond by the arrival of Toriel. It appeared as if she had been doing some reading, for her glasses were perched on the end of her snout.

"Who is it Asriel? Oh!" She did a slight double take. "You're a human, aren't you?" She inquired. Chara nodded.

"Their name is Chara!" Asriel said brightly. "I found them while I was walking in the ruins."

Comprehension dawned in Toriel's eyes. "Ah," she said. "You found them in the surface chamber, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Asriel said. He hadn't heard the name before, but it had to be the same place. "I heard them fall and I just couldn't leave them there." There was a hint of a plea in his voice. He hadn't heard his parents talk much about humans, so he didn't know how they felt about them…but he knew the legacy they had down here in the underground. Even though his and Chara's time together had been short, he did not want to see them treated as the villain just because they were human. Fortunately, Toriel was taking the whole situation in stride.

"No, of course not! In fact, I would be quite disappointed if you had. So," Toriel turned her attention to Chara, fixing them with a reassuring grin. "Chara, was it?"

"Yeah," Chara said. The smile they had given Asriel had vanished, but at least they were actually looking at Toriel and not staring at the floorboards.

"So Chara, how did you end up here in the underground?"

Chara averted their eyes. "I…don't want to talk about it."

Toriel didn't look surprised. "I understand…if you're not ready to talk about it, I'm not going to force anything. But when you are ready, you can always come talk to me, or Asgore…and I'm sure Asriel would be willing to help in any way he can."

"I'm sure he will," Chara said. Their voice was as hard to read as their face, but Asriel believed that Chara was being sincere.

"But…the situation being what it is…" Toriel fiddled with her glasses. Asriel recognized this as one of her nervous tics. "I'm afraid that you're going to have to remain here for a while."

A pregnant silence pervaded the room.

"You mean I can't go back to the surface?" Chara asked slowly.

"No, my child." Toriel said it gently, as only a mother can.

If this was a blow to Chara, they didn't show it. Now Asriel detected a hint of surprise in his mother's expression as she surveyed the human. It was clear that she had been expecting some exclamation of disbelief or grief, but none came. Chara, if anything, looked thoughtful.

"But where will I stay?" Was all they said.

Toriel's genteel smile had returned. "I think we have room to spare right here, don't we, Asriel?"

"Of c—"

"Room for what now?" Asgore strode in from the hallway. He was wearing khaki shorts and an awful Bermuda T-shirt, his usual casual wear. A cup of steaming tea was in his hand.

"I'm sorry I didn't come right away; I was finishing something up—"

His eyes swept the foyer, searching for the reason behind his summons. Finally, they settled on Chara. His apologetic expression morphed into something Asriel couldn't quite decipher; before he could get a second look, however, it had been replaced by polite interest.

"Howdy, there." He said kindly. "Who might you be?"

"Chara."

"And how did you come to be in the underground?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Chara repeated.

"Why not?" Asgore's smile did not extend to his eyes.

"Asgore…" Toriel warned.

"I…didn't mean to come here. I was…" Chara clenched their fists. "I'm sorry. I can't do this right now."

Asgore raised his eyebrows, but didn't push any further.

"Dad, I, uh…I found them when I was walking in the ruins, in the surface chamber. They had fallen down, and I just couldn't leave them there…"

"Of course, the surface chamber…" Asgore brooded for a moment.

"Yes, but nothing can be done about that now," Toriel said, with an air of steering the conversation away from dangerous waters. "As I was just saying before you came in, we have plenty of room here for Chara to stay. In fact, I was thinking that they could share a room with Asriel."

"That works for me! How about you, Chara?" He tried to be upbeat and cheerful in an attempt to dispel the tension in the room.

"Sure," they said. They shoved their fists into their pockets.

"Well…that's that, then. I'll help you get settled in, all right, Chara? We only have one bed at the moment, but I'm sure we can get another soon…and oh, you must be hungry! After I show you to the room I'll whip something up in the kitchen…" Toriel led Chara down the hall. Asriel followed. Asgore stood alone in the foyer for a few minutes more. Eventually, he slid back down the hallway and into his room. The door shut behind him with a small _click,_ and he was once again plunged into the world of his own racing thoughts.

* * *

The rest of the day was a blur, not because it went fast, but because Asriel didn't feel fully present. It was as if he were watching his life's proceedings from underwater. So far none of his questions had been answered, none of the burning curiosity quelled. Asgore's behavior had only left him more confused. Why was he being so distant? What had that expression meant? And what did Chara think of all this? His consciousness became submerged in these questions, like a diver in the deep. Thus, before he knew it, it was nighttime. Mom and Dad had retired to their room, and Asriel was sitting in the large reading chair by the fire. The embers smoldered in the fireplace, bathing him in a soft warm glow. It was so comfortable here…it was perhaps the most comfortable he had felt all day. However, one look at the clock told him that he needed to get to bed. Groaning, he lifted himself out of the recliner and padded down the hall to his room. When he entered, he was surprised to find that Chara was still awake. They were perched on the edge of the bed, hands clasped together, feet swinging slowly, idly. They were wearing that same thoughtful expression from before.

The questions returned at full force, ricocheting around the inside of his skull. He could not contain them anymore. Perhaps this time Chara would talk to him…or maybe that was a foolish thought.

 _Well, only one way to find out._

"So…" He said, announcing his presence. "You're from the surface."

Chara nodded. They didn't look up.

"It must be hard…" Asriel continued tentatively. "Being away from your parents and your friends. Do…do you miss them?"

To his surprise, Chara laughed softly.

"Not at all. In fact, I wanted to leave them." They stared down into their lap, fists clenched on the hem of their shirt. It was striped, just like his. "I wanted to leave everyone. But I didn't lie. I didn't want to come _here_."

"W-what do you mean, you wanted to leave _everyone?_ "

Chara shook their head, as if to say _forget it._ Asriel couldn't understand. He'd be devastated if it was he who had been cast into a strange land, separated from his parents. What had happened to Chara, that they felt this way? He didn't ask. He wouldn't get an answer, anyway. Chara obviously did not want to talk about it.

Asriel stood there awkwardly, wanting to cheer them up, but he didn't know what to say. The remaining unasked questions swam through his head, but he could not ask any of them. As the seconds passed, the prolonged silence pressed in on him. He had to say _something._

"But, uh…n-none of that really matters now anyway, right? There's no way to get to the surface, so you'll be stuck down here for a while…but hey, at least you'll be with us! Mom and Dad are pretty neat. They'll take good care of you. Hey," he placed his hand on Chara's shoulder. The physical contact seemed to snap them out of a trance. He gazed into the pale face, the dark, unreadable eyes. _What good are windows to the soul if the shutters are closed?_ "As long as you're here, you're family." He smiled. "Okay?"

"Family…" Chara repeated slowly, as though they had never heard the word before and were desperate to remember it.

"Right. And families help each other. So, please…let me help."

Chara tilted their head back, their curtain of hair dancing behind them.

"Well…I _could_ use a glass of water."

* * *

 _That wasn't exactly what I was going for,_ Asriel thought as he filled up a glass at the sink. Nonetheless, he felt like he had made a small breakthrough. Chara hadn't had the best life so far, of that he was certain. The word "family" had seemed so alien to them. Chara was emotionally wounded, and yet Asriel couldn't help but feel a sense of hope growing in his chest. Wounds heal, especially with the proper treatment. As far as Chara was concerned, Asriel believed that he and his parents— _his family_ —were just what the doctor ordered. As he headed back down the hall, he heard muffled voices issuing from his parents' room. He stopped in his tracks. The voices weren't yelling, but they were definitely far from cordial conversation.

"Honestly, I can't believe you would even consider—" His mother's voice, high and indignant.

"Tori, I'm not saying we should do anything drastic, but we would be idiots not to consider the risks—" His father's low, slow rumble.

"They're just a _child,_ for god's sake, it's not like they're going to go on a killing spree—they're probably scared out of their mind that _we're_ the ones that might kill _them_!"

"What if they were sent here by the humans? They are being quite secretive about their reasons for coming here. That's reason enough to suspect them, in my book."

"You sound like a conspiracist. Honestly, if the humans were going to send someone to destroy us, do you really think they would send a _child?_ "

"The fact that they are young does not make them any less capable of murder. You've heard of the power of a human soul," Asgore said shortly. "Besides, you've always been soft where humans are concerned. I remember back when we were in History class together, whenever we discussed the barrier's origin you were the only one who stood up for them, who always insisted that _humans can't all be bad_ —"

"I was definitely not the only one. Your prejudice is making you blind, Gorey. Honestly, with that logic, all monsters must be savages too, because we have those among us who have done things just as bad—"

"So, monsters have slaughtered countless innocent humans and locked them away underground with little to no hope of escape, have they?"

Pause.

"Well, no…but _still._ And anyway, I could never consent to…to…" Toriel's voice dropped off. "They're a _person,_ Gorey, not some demon, not some tool to be manipulated."

Asriel heard heavy, slow shuffling. In his mind's eye he saw Dad drawing nearer to Mom, taking her hand lightly.

"Just think, Tori…freedom is within our grasp. It won't be easy, I know, but _just think._ This human child coming here must be fate. All monsters will be liberated. We will once again live on the surface."

Another pause. Then he heard an angry, quick sound, as if Mom had torn her hand from Dad's grip. "And what will you do then?" She asked coolly. "Will you have your revenge? Will you slaughter them all? I know what humans have done to us in the past…what _some_ humans have done. I also know that revenge won't solve anything. It'll simply perpetuate this cycle of hatred. I do agree that the child coming here is fate, but not in the way you imagine. This child is our chance to fix things, not to break them further. I may not be able to change your position on this…but I can, and I will, keep you from enforcing it."

"Tori—"

"Goodnight, Asgore."

Asriel scurried to his room and quickly shut the door, his mind full of what he had just heard. Outside in the hall, he heard a door slam and footfalls head towards the kitchen. Dad. He was probably going to make himself a cup of golden flower tea. He usually did that when he was stressed. Asriel couldn't help but wonder what his father had been considering that Mom was so upset about. Something to do with the barrier—and freedom. Asriel had heard rumors about the barrier—how it was the reason that no monster could leave the underground, how it was unbreakable—but from what he could gather from his parents' argument, there _was_ a way to break it, a way that involved Chara…

Asriel blanched. _Chara._ Mom and Dad hadn't exactly been secretive about their argument…what if Chara had heard? What would they think? Would they do something drastic? Judging from what little he knew of them, Asriel guessed that they would…but all Asriel's fears were quelled in an instant when he turned around and found Chara curled up on the edge of his bed, sound asleep. He let out a long, easy breath and sank onto the bed next to them. He sat the glass of water on the bedside table. _Just in case._

"I don't know exactly what's going on," Asriel whispered, watching the gentle rise and fall of Chara's chest, "but it sounds like you are important. Dad and Mom both think so, and they're usually right. I mean, I kind of suspected it as well…I mean, you did fall from the sky and all, like an angel."

He leaned back, resting his hands behind his head and staring up at the shadowy ceiling. A fan hummed there, sending down gentle waves of cool air to ruffle his fur. "All I know is that I agree. You are a chance. A chance for freedom, a chance for reconciliation.

"A chance for a friend."

* * *

 _Hey everybody, I got chapter two done! Woo! This one is a bit of a doozy, but I hope it'll keep you entertained. There's a lot more going on in this one than the last one! I'm going to start work on chapter three as soon as possible, there's some stuff coming up soon in the story that I'm pretty excited for. In the meantime, please let me know what you think! Any reviews or feedback of any kind is appreciated!_

 _Additionally, I am pretty new to writing fanfiction, and I would like to have some of my stuff betaed, but I'm not sure who to ask. If you have any advice, or are interested in maybe betaing some of the future chapters of this story, please find it in your heart to help a newbie out!_

 _Thank you, and enjoy!_


	3. The Angel

When Asriel woke the next morning, he was momentarily confused to find himself lying on his bed the way he was, sidelong with his legs dangling off the edge. Then he remembered the events of yesterday, and an avalanche of memories and emotions came crashing into his consciousness. With a groggy sigh, he pushed himself up, stretched, and glanced over to his left. Chara remained curled up, still asleep. Asriel smiled faintly. Of course, they'd be exhausted. They had just been introduced to an entirely new world, one they had never meant to visit in the first place, and had been thrust into all of its complications in one fell swoop. He couldn't think of any better reason for someone to deserve the chance to sleep in. As silently as he could, he slid off the bed and padded to the door. Glancing back to make sure he had not disturbed Chara, he noticed that the glass of water he had placed there last night now stood empty. Asriel took an odd comfort from the sight.

"I won't let you be alone," Asriel said softly. "No matter how much you want to be."

Quietly, he closed the door behind him.

* * *

The hallway was illuminated with the underground's gray early morning light. Asriel stood for a moment, watching the pale beams chase the shadows back into their far-off corners. He wasn't sure exactly from where the light came—they didn't exactly have a sun here, after all—he suspected it be a result of some kind of magic. Many monsters were well-practiced in magic, and he supposed one of them must have wanted to return to the darkness some semblance of the surface world they had once known. However, Asriel didn't know for sure. It remained one of the many mysteries of the underground.

 _Mysteries._

Asriel hated being in the dark—the metaphorical dark. He knew so little about what was going on. He knew that Chara was hurting, but he didn't fully understand why. The memory of how foreign the word "family" had seemed on Chara's lips rose to the surface of his mind. It pained him to see Chara bearing this huge burden, whatever it was, alone. He remained convinced that if Chara would just trust him to share their burden, would stop internalizing the emotions that he was convinced were slowly eating away at their insides, he could ease that pain.

And his parents…they knew something about Chara that he did not. Fate, they had called it, that Chara had come here to the underground. It was almost as if they had expected it to happen… Asriel couldn't see how this was possible. Dad had also said something to Mom that puzzled him, something about the power of a human soul. Dad had insisted that Chara was dangerous—that they posed a threat to monsterkind. It was this point that troubled Asriel above all else. He may not know much about human souls, but he was dead certain of this fact: Chara was no murderer. They may not have divulged much about their past, but Asriel didn't need words to know what he knew. He could see it written in their face, their eyes—no malice was reflected there; only confusion, brokenness. He agreed with his Mom. _This child is a chance to fix things._ If only Dad had heard Chara last night…perhaps he would have stopped treating them like a demon rather than a person.

A small tinkling sound issued from down the hall, breaking Asriel out of his reverie. It sounded as if someone was in the kitchen. When he went to investigate, he found Asgore sitting at the dining table. He was clasping a mug of tea in two hands and staring vacantly at the wall. There were dark circles under his eyes.

"Um, Dad?" Asriel said cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"Hm?" Asgore seemed to have just noticed that Asriel was there. "Oh, hey, kiddo. Yeah, I'm fine. Just…thinking."

"About last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard you and Mom arguing," Asriel confessed.

"Ah," Asgore said comprehendingly. He took a drag of his tea. "I should've realized, the way we were carrying on, that it wasn't going to stay under wraps. I'm sorry, Asriel," he said, and he truly did sound sorry. "I do hope we didn't upset you."

"I'm not upset," Asriel said, pulling up a chair next to his father. "I am worried, though."

"I know we fought," Asgore said in a soothing voice, "but your mother and I still love each other very much. That hasn't changed."

"I know…I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about Chara."

"What about them?"

"I know they're not dangerous," Asriel blurted. "But you seem to think they are."

Asgore was silent for a few moments. He took another sip of tea, and he looked as if he was steeling himself.

"What you have to understand, Asriel," he said slowly, "is that I, as king, have a duty towards my people. I exist to protect them from harm and danger. I must take action to deal with any threat, latent or imminent."

"But Chara's not a threat!" Asriel interjected angrily.

"You do not know that for certain," said Asgore patiently.

"You didn't hear them last night," Asriel countered. "You didn't see the look on their face."

"Maybe not. But I know enough about humans to know that their very presence here poses a risk to us all."

"How so?"

"The human soul," said Asgore grimly, "is far more powerful than even the strongest monster soul. If the human child were to turn against us for any reason, monsterkind would not stand a chance. We would be annihilated."

"Can you honestly see _Chara_ doing that? Why are you so paranoid that they will turn against us? We haven't given them any reason to!"

"You heard my suspicions last night. Suppose this child is an agent sent to finish the job that humanity started all those years ago. They could be biding their time. Besides," Asgore sounded bitter. "I know how humans are. They don't always need a reason to justify their actions. They can generate hate from nothingness, loathing from a void. Simply the fact that we are who we are could inspire in them the desire to wipe all monsters from the face of the earth. It would be better to act before this happens."

"So what you're saying," said Asriel, roiling in the injustice his father was spouting, "is that we should kill Chara just because they have the _possibility_ to kill us?" _Kill or be killed. What an awful way to live._

"I would rather do that than see everyone, including you, suffer because of my oversight. If something happened to you, or Tori…" Asriel, shocked, heard a tremor of fear in his dad's voice. "I could never forgive myself."

"Dad, nothing's going to happen to me or Mom, I pr—"

"There is something else." Asgore's voice was tight. "There is a prophecy."

"A prophecy?" Asriel was taken aback.

"Yes," Asgore continued. "' _The Angel, the One Who Has Seen the Surface, will return, and the underground will go empty._ '"

"Well…that's good, right? Isn't that what we want?" Asriel asked.

Asgore gave a hollow smile. "It is the way your mother views it. She is convinced that this angel from the surface is monsterkind's chance to finally go free, that it will present a peaceful way to overcome the barrier and mend our relationship with the humans. I, on the other hand, do not read it as such. Angels, after all, are not inherently good. They are just as prone to destroy as they are to save."

"You think Chara is the angel?" Asriel said quietly.

"I am sure of it." Asgore said firmly.

There was a heavy silence.

"Even if there is a prophecy," Asriel said fervently, "even if Chara is this angel who has seen the surface, it doesn't matter. The way I see it, the power is in our hands right now. We have the power to decide how we act towards Chara, so _we_ have the power to determine which direction the prophecy goes. Dad, Chara has never had a real family before." He was desperate for his father to hear this, to take it to heart, for there was nothing Asgore understood better than family. "We have the chance to give that to them. So please," Asriel pleaded, "don't treat them like they're some demon. Treat them like a _person!_ Try to reach out to them!" Tears were glittering in the corners of Asriel's eyes. "I promise, if we do that, nothing will turn out badly."

Something in Asgore's expression softened. He placed his hand on Asriel's shoulder as his tears began to flow freely.

"That's a big promise to make," Asgore said seriously. Then a reassuring smile tinged his lips. "But I will do my best to move this prophecy in the right direction."

Asriel hugged his dad.

"So will I."

* * *

Asgore had some business to attend to, so he threw on his overcoat, bade Asriel goodbye, and set out into the cool gray morning. Asriel was feeling significantly better than he had earlier this morning. In fact, now that his troubled mind was put a little at ease, he figured he would go back to bed for a while. Might as well, seeing as he had school the next day and wouldn't be able to sleep in then.

When he entered his room, he found that Chara was awake, sitting upright on the covers with their head resting against the wooden headboard. They looked up as he came in.

"Morning!" Asriel said brightly.

"I don't always want to be alone."

"Huh?" It took Asriel a second to realize what they were talking about. "Oh! Wait—you were awake?"

"Do you make a habit of saying stuff like that to people while they're sleeping?" Chara smirked. "That's really melodramatic."

Asriel flushed red with embarrassment. "I—uh, I mean—"

Chara laughed amusedly. "Don't worry about it. I really don't mind. I—I know you're worried about me." They were twisting the hem of their shirt in their fingers.

Asriel hopped onto the bed next to them. "Chara, please…can't you tell me how you came to be in the underground? Why did you leave your home on the surface?"

Chara face hardened. "I've already said that I don't want to talk about that. Why does everyone keep asking?"

"Why are you so determined to keep it a secret?" Asriel countered.

"Why are _you_ so determined to know? It's not really any of your business."

"The minute you fell down here, it became my business," said Asriel, hating that he was arguing with Chara. But he had to get them to understand. "I don't exactly know all the details, but I know that you represent the crossroads for the future of the entire underground. There's a prophecy," he said, echoing his Dad's words from earlier. "' _The Angel, the One Who Has Seen the Surface, will return, and the underground will go empty.'_ I believe you are that angel, and that it is ultimately you who decides our fate."

"If you only care about me because of that," Chara retorted, "then you're just like everyone else I've even known." The words went through Asriel like a knife.

"If I hadn't cared about you as a person, would I have rescued you from the ruins?" Asriel said softly. "I _do_ care about you, Chara. I want you to be happy. I want you to have a family."

Chara stared silently at their lap, fingers still twisting at their hem. "I've been thinking a lot about why I ended up here," they said slowly. "I didn't mean to come here, but here I am. I don't think it was an accident, either." They lifted their eyes to look into Asriel's, which were full of concern. "Could this be why? Is the reason I'm here…so I can be with you?"

Asriel grinned. "That sounds like a pretty good reason to me."


	4. Growth

Over the next few days, Asriel was persistent in his efforts to make Chara feel at home. Oftentimes he felt like he was simply being a nuisance—those were the times where Chara would reply monosyllabically or not at all—but he could not be discouraged. Something inside him kept him going, kept telling him that this was important. Of course, he knew that Chara was linked inexorably to the fate of the underground, but that fact remained in the periphery of his vision. What was much more immediate and important to Asriel was Chara's happiness. Asriel realized with every passing day how true it was, what he had said to Chara on the dawn of their second day in the underground; he did care for them. Every time he was able to get a conversation, a laugh, or even just a smile out of them reaffirmed that truth. Asriel's persistence was paying off, it seemed, for smiling was something Chara was doing with ever-increasing frequency.

School certainly played a large part in helping Chara become accustomed to the underground. Toriel had insisted upon their attendance with a kind of good-natured vehemence.

"I've always believed that education is of utmost importance," Toriel had said as she stuffed Chara's backpack with notebooks and pencils. "In fact, I'd like to be a teacher myself someday!"

"But Mom, they might not be up for school just yet. They might want some more time to get adjusted. Right, Chara?" Asriel glanced over at Chara for confirmation, but Toriel cut in before they could get a word out.

"What better way to get adjusted than going to school? It's certainly not going to happen while staying cooped up in the house all day. Besides, I've already told the teacher they are coming."

Asriel looked ready to continue arguing on Chara's behalf, but they cut him off.

"Really, it's okay," Chara assured him, smiling slightly. "I'm sort of excited, actually."

"For _school?_ " Asriel said incredulously.

Toriel laughed and handed Chara the backpack. "Maybe some of your attitude can rub off on Asriel."

Chara's small smile widened fractionally. "Maybe. Thanks...uh…"

"Mom," Said Toriel firmly.

"Right." Chara turned slightly pink.

"Well, we'd better get going if we don't want to be late," said Asriel, breaking the brief but uncomfortable silence. "Come on, Chara!" He dragged them out the front door. "See you later, Mom!" he called over his shoulder.

"Have a good day!" Toriel called after the retreating pair, but they had already turned a corner and disappeared from her sight.

Attending classes had gone a long way in drawing Chara out of their shell, if not simply for the fact that it was difficult to remain withdrawn and silent while several curious monsters were gathered around you, all vying for your attention. At first Asriel had been apprehensive about how his friends would react to Chara. He feared that they might be afraid of them, or mistrustful, as Asgore had been. _What if they reject Chara?_ he fretted. _I don't want them to be alone here, too._ However, he needn't have worried; when Asriel introduced them, they were nothing short of fascinated.

"So you're a human?" Loox asked, her one eye wide with awe. She, Monster Kid, Asriel, and Chara were congregated in a corner of the classroom, oblivious to the many chatty monsters around them finishing last-minute homework and discussing the latest episode of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie.

Chara gave a singular nod. Asriel could tell that they were not used to being paid so much attention. Their eyes looked wary, and they were poised as if they were prepared to turn and dash away at a moment's notice.

"No way, that is so awesome!" said Monster Kid, grinning from ear to ear.

"We've learned about humans in class," Loox said eagerly.

"But to have the real thing here… _wow!_ " Monster Kid finished her sentence.

"So, you're really from the surface?"

"Yeah, they are," said Asriel hurriedly, intervening. He knew how Chara felt about that subject, and he really didn't want their first encounter with his friends to be marred by resentment and surliness. "Their name is Chara."

Chara shot a quick, thankful glance at Asriel, then spoke tentatively. "Yeah, I'm Chara. Uh…nice to meet you."

"What's up, Chara? I'm Monster Kid!" Monster Kid said brightly. "I'd shake your hand, but…" He looked sadly at his shirtsleeves, which hung forlornly at his sides.

"How come you always wear shirts with sleeves?" Asriel inquired curiously.

"How come you always wear shirts with stripes?" Monster Kid shot back.

Asriel grinned. "Touché."

Monster Kid sighed and rolled his eyes. "It's because of Mom. All my clothes are hand-me-downs from my neighbor." He put on a lofty, singsong voice. " _'If you're smart and save your gold, lifelong joy you're sure to hold.'_ "

Loox giggled. "Does your mom really say that?"

"Yeah. She's full of corny quips."

"Doesn't that get annoying, though, having your sleeves flapping around all day? Can't she alter them?"

"It's kind of hard to work a sewing machine with your teeth. But anyway," Monster Kid said, turning to Chara once again. "What's the surface like? The only things I've heard have been from our textbook, or from rumors—but you've actually been there!" His eyes shone with excitement; Loox turned her eye expectantly on Chara as well. "Is it really as green as they say? Is there really a big ball of _fire_ in the sky?"

"Some parts are," Chara answered, a smile curling into being. "And yeah. There is."

Monster Kid's grin grew even wider. "Dude, the surface is so hardcore!"

"I suppose…but it's really nice here, as well." Chara looked rather guilty.

"I guess it's okay here," said Loox dismissively, "but the surface sounds like paradise." She sighed dreamily. "I would love to see fields of colorful flowers, green trees, blue sky…"

The involuntary reaction that had twisted Chara's face at the word _paradise_ was swiftly replaced by an expression Asriel had never seen them wear before, a look of bittersweet reminiscence.

"If there's one thing I miss from the surface, it's the flowers," Chara said fondly. "I loved everything about them, their color, their smell…it gave me hope, to see that someplace like that could produce something so beautiful." Their eyes were closed and they looked exultant, almost as if they could sense the flowers' aroma wafting through the stuffy classroom. "I would always go to the big patch just outside the forest. It was my favorite place to be, especially when…" Chara's voice trailed off as a dark expression crossed their face like a shadow. Neither Loox nor Monster Kid seemed to have noticed. They seemed to be preoccupied, enraptured by visions of the surface, a vivid, ethereal dreamland in which they could find no fault. Asriel, however, was slowly putting the pieces together. Fractures were beginning to web their way across his pristine view of the surface. Before Chara had arrived he would have been right along with his friends, imagining the wonders of the world above. However, their demeanor, their reticence, and their unfamiliarity with the concept of family, a concept that Asriel had taken for granted, were beginning to paint a darker picture in Asriel's head, one that was far from wonderful.

"It would be amazing to go to the surface someday," Loox said wistfully. "I'd like to see all those flowers. They don't grow naturally here, except for the Echo Flower. But I've seen a zillion of those."

"Echo Flower?" asked Chara.

"Yeah, they grow all over the place, especially in Waterfall," Loox explained. "They'll repeat the last thing they heard over and over."

"Repeat? What do you mean?" Chara narrowed their eyes in confusion.

"Like a tape recorder, I guess. You say something, they repeat it."

"So they actually _talk?_ "

"It gets old after a while," said Loox in disillusioned tones. Chara's face, however, was alight with an excitement Asriel had not seen there before.

"I'd love to see them sometime," they said earnestly.

"Hey Loox, are you wearing _eyeshadow?_ " Monster Kid interjected, clearly not paying any attention whatsoever to the flower conversation.

She giggled. "You noticed?"

"How could I not? Your eye is half your face!"

"Oh, shut up." Loox said crossly, folding her arms. The effect was ruined, however, by the slight smirk she was wearing.

Asriel was laughing; he always found his two friends' antics amusing. However, he wasn't the only one. Another laugh joined in a chorus with his own, an unfamiliar one. It was a raw sound, as though it had been used very rarely, full of undisguised, genuine mirth. He glanced around and was slightly taken aback when he saw who the sound was coming from. Chara was doubled over slightly, a few tears leaking out of the corners of their eyes. They brushed them away with their sleeve, a wide grin still plastered across their face.

"I must be funnier than I thought!" Monster Kid said, evidently proud of the effect his jibe had had. "Even Snowdrake would be jealous!"

"I wouldn't count on it," Loox muttered.

"All right, to your seats everyone! Class is about to begin," the teacher called, bringing their conversation to an abrupt end. The classroom was suddenly a flurry of movement as monsters wended their way towards their seats. Asriel made sure that Chara was able to slide into the desk next to his.

"Good morning everyone!" The teacher began. "I've got a few announcements to start off today. Our annual Claws for a Cause food drive will be starting later this week…"

Asriel leaned surreptitiously towards Chara, whose smile still lingered. "How come you never told me that stuff before now?" He whispered, trying not to show the tiny sliver of resentment he felt. He had, after all, been asking them about this for days.

"I don't know," Chara said honestly. Their brow furrowed in concern as their smile faded away and was replaced by an expression of uncertainty. "When Loox mentioned the flowers, something inside me just…clicked, I guess. To tell you the truth, I didn't even think about things like that when you kept asking about my life on the surface. My mind just went to…other things."

"The things you don't want to talk about?" Asriel guessed.

Chara's legs began to swing idly, back and forth, back and forth. "Yeah. I figured it was silly. I mean, so I used to hang out in the flower patches. Who cares?"

"I do!" Asriel said firmly. "And believe me, I'm not the only one."

Chara pressed their lips together, looking dubious. "I really don't want to bother anyone with tedious stories."

Seeing that he was not getting anywhere with this, Asriel changed tack. "Would you like to see some flowers sometime?"

Chara perked up slightly. "The Echo Flowers? Definitely!"

"I'll show you those eventually," Asriel said, "but there's another place that I'm thinking of that has much more than just Echo Flowers."

"I thought those were the only kind that grew here…" Chara said perplexedly.

In response, Asriel flashed a sly grin. "Just wait till you see the place I've got in mind."

"ASRIEL!" barked a loud, irritated voice from the front of the room. Asriel, who was still leaning towards Chara due to the covert (or perhaps not-so-covert) conversation they had been having, actually toppled out of his chair and onto the floor. The entire class burst into a fit of sniggering; even Chara had to cover their mouth with their palm to suppress their smile. "What, may I ask, is so important that you must interrupt class to discuss it?"

"Well, I—it was—" Asriel stammered, his heart still beating like crazy. _Geez, was it_ really _necessary for her to yell that loud?_

"He was just telling me how things work around here," Chara piped up apologetically. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Snowdrake, it was my fault."

Mrs. Snowdrake's cool gaze became significantly warmer at these words. "I suppose that's fine. But let's try to save that for outside of class time, all right? Now where was I…"

As Asriel clambered back onto his chair, still feeling acutely embarrassed, he and Chara locked eyes. They mouthed _you owe me one._ He nodded and mouthed back: _just say the word._ Then, feeling he couldn't afford to miss any more class, he turned to face the front and tried to concentrate on what Mrs. Snowdrake was saying. However, his mind was elsewhere; namely, the place he had alluded to earlier. As he thought of it, a simple yet brilliant idea fell into his mind. Perhaps this outing would serve as more than a way to cheer Chara up. Asriel felt that he and Chara were on good terms (at least, they had not told him otherwise), but this was not the case with the entirety of the Dreemurr family. Despite the promise he had made, Asgore remained suspicious and distant. Whenever he was around Chara he put up a façade of geniality, but there was no concealing the palpable tension that arose whenever the two were in close proximity. Asriel understood that his father would never be lax about the welfare of the underground's inhabitants, and he could not fault him for his initial trepidation regarding Chara, especially considering monsterkind's past treatment at the hands of humans. However, Chara's behavior thus far did not, in Asriel's opinion, warrant continued suspicion; they were mysterious, yes, but they were also kind and grateful and devoid of any inclination to harm anyone. Yet, Asgore did not see any of this when he looked at Chara…he saw a ticking time bomb, a threat that lay dormant for the moment but could explode at any time. While this attitude remained in place, Asriel could see little hope for Chara ever feeling like they really, truly belonged with the Dreemurrs. _But,_ he thought, _if I can just convince him to do this one thing…maybe, just maybe, he and Chara can move past this and see that they are not enemies. They are family._

We _are family._

"Hey Dad?" Asriel called, poking his head into the sitting room.

Asgore looked up. Spread out in front of him on the table was a large sheet of paper covered with lines, circles, and X's. Asriel recognized it as one of his father's battle plans. As king, Asgore assumed the duty of appointing members of the Royal Guard, and he even went the extra mile to train privately with those that desired to become stronger. _That must mean Undyne's here, too,_ he thought. Sure enough, when Asgore leaned back, yawning widely, to stretch his arms, she came into view. She didn't seem to have noticed Asriel's appearance, for she continued to scrutinize the battle plan with such intensity that Asriel was surprised the paper didn't catch fire. Undyne was a student at the local high school, a tall, graceful monster with blue scales and a mane of bright red hair. She had shrewd yellow eyes and (if Asriel was being truthful) a rather intimidating demeanor. However, he had gotten used to her being around, for she had taken up weekly private training with Asgore in order to bolster her combat skills. From the limited conversation he had had with her, Asriel had surmised that she was very duty-driven and undoubtedly a hard worker. She was fiercely passionate, determined to become a member of the Royal Guard; indeed, one of the reasons Asgore had taken her on as a pupil was because of her undying commitment to her training. If Asgore planned an hour long session, she would insist on doing two hours. Asgore often complained about his aching limbs following these intensive sessions, but he wore a satisfied smile all the same.

"What's up, kiddo?" he said, shifting slightly in his chair to face Asriel. Undyne didn't look up. "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Asriel said. "I just wanted to ask you something."

"I'm all ears."

"Well…" Asriel rocked back onto his heels. All he was doing was asking a harmless question, so why was he so jittery? "I was thinking...I want to show Chara the throne room if…if that's okay?"

"The throne room, eh?" Asgore said, rubbing his chin in apparent thought. A silence followed, but it was not the cold, tense kind he had been fearing. That, at least, was an auspicious sign. Asriel had the feeling that Asgore was debating with himself, trying to decide whether granting them access to the throne room would awaken any hidden motives Chara might currently be harboring.

"I just wanted them to see it, is all. We don't even have to go in, we can look through the doorway," Asriel added for good measure.

"Why, may I ask, does Chara want to see the throne room in particular?" Asgore inquired, his eyebrows drawn together. Undyne was paying attention now, leaning across the table so as to gaze raptly at Asriel. He felt the heat begin to rise in his cheeks.

"Well," he said, tugging at his collar, "at school today, me and Chara and some other friends were talking, and they kind of let slip some memories they had from the surface."

"Did they?" Asgore's eyebrows climbed higher up his forehead. Undyne's yellow eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

"Nothing bad!" Asriel said hastily, a mote of annoyance in his tone. Did Asgore really think that Chara could somehow usurp his position by simply setting foot in the vicinity of the throne? "They were just saying how they missed all the flowers from their village back on the surface, that's all." He took a steadying breath. "Whatever you might think of them, Dad, they've still got feelings like anyone else. They have things that are important to them, things that they miss. And I get to thinking, how would I feel if I were thrown into a strange new world that was completely different from the one I was used to? Wouldn't it be a godsend to have even one sliver of familiarity? That's what Chara needs right now, and…well, I figured that if I showed them the throne room, they might feel just a little closer to home."

Asriel awaited Asgore's verdict. His face remained impassive, but the ever-increasing speed with which he was massaging his chin suggested that he was considering the matter deeply. Undyne, however, looked undisguisedly dubious.

"Is this the human kid?" She said brusquely.

Asriel nodded in response, crossing his arms defensively. Both he and Undyne turned and fixed their eyes expectantly upon Asgore.

"Well," he said at last, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt for you two to pay a visit."

"Really?' Asriel's face split into a wide grin. "Thanks so much, Dad!"

"Asgore, I don't think that's such a—" Undyne began, but Asgore cut her off.

"I appreciate the input," he said sincerely, "but it's not your decision to make, Undyne." He turned to face his son. "I trust Asriel, of course. And I suppose Chara hasn't given me a reason not to trust them"

"But they haven't given you a reason _to_ trust them either, have they?" Undyne countered forcefully.

"You can't give someone a reason to trust you if they never give you the chance," Asriel said loudly. Almost immediately he felt bad for accusatory tone, but these words seemed to have struck a nerve with Asgore. He was wearing a rather guilty expression.

"I understand your concern," he said conciliatorily, "but I think Asriel is right. Perhaps…perhaps I haven't given Chara as much of a chance as I ought."

He groped in the pocket of his khakis, drawing out an antiquated golden key. "Here's the key to the room," he said, extending it towards Asriel right under Undyne's disapproving glare. "I don't really go up there much myself, except to tend to the garden. It's more of a formality that we have thrones anyhow. After all, who wants to sit alone in an empty room all day?"

Asriel reached out to take the key, but hesitated at the last moment, his palm suspended frozen over Asgore's. "Actually," he said, desperately hoping that he wasn't pushing his luck too far, "I was hoping you might go with us. It's your garden, after all. You know the names of all the flowers, how to take care of them, everything. I'm sure Chara would love to hear about them from you."

Asgore was silent. Asriel wrung his hands. He had imagined this scene in his head without Undyne staring them down, emanating disapproval that washed over them like a cold tide. As Asgore deliberated, he glanced over at Undyne. She pursed her lips but didn't say anything. Asriel's heart sank; he was growing surer by the moment that Asgore was going to say no. _I mean, at least I'll still get to show Chara the room,_ Asriel thought glumly. But if things between Chara and Asgore didn't get patched up soon, he feared they never would. And really, why was Asgore so averse to being around Chara? Hadn't he just admitted that he wasn't putting forth as much of an effort as he should? Did he just not care? Was he still afraid? If he'd just stop being such a recluse; if he'd just give Chara one chance…

"All right," Asgore said.

"What?" Asriel snapped out of his reverie. Had the answer had been a byproduct of his musings, or had Asgore really just said what he thought he said?

"I'll go with you, give Chara the grand tour," he smiled, though it did not entirely mask his look of unease. Asriel, however, took no notice. He was overcome with a rush of joy, not a scintilla of which was hidden by the grin that split his face.

"When should we do it?" he said eagerly. "Anytime works for me, and Chara doesn't really have anything going on either! We could go tomorrow, even!"

"Whoa there, kiddo," Asgore said gently. "I'm booked pretty heavily this week. How's Saturday afternoon sound? I think I could spare some time then."

"Whatever works!" Asriel effervesced. "Thanks so much, Dad!"

He embraced his dad briefly, then dashed from the room, a new lightness in his heart that even Undyne's lingering mistrustful stare could not dim. He had to let Chara know that they had plans for Saturday afternoon.

"Whoa," Chara said in a hushed voice.

'Whoa' was right. Asriel and Chara had just stepped side-by-side over the threshold into the throne room, Asgore in their wake. Asriel had been in the throne room before, but never had its beauty been as apparent as it was in that moment, standing next to Chara; it was as if he was seeing it anew through their eyes. The ceiling rose higher than a cathedral's. Shafts of soft sunlight shone from an unseen source, illuminating the room with dappled light. It danced in a lazy rhythm on the ground, almost as if it were playing through a tangle of branches, though the rafters were void of any trace of foliage. However, this was certainly not the case for the floor. It was blanketed in its entirety with a prismatic array of flowers, all swaying merrily despite the lack of breeze. Vibrant reds, pinks, and oranges blazed from every corner, demanding instant attention. Subdued blues and violets skulked in the background with a kind of timid beauty. And the _green._ There was perhaps more green in this one room than the rest of the underground put together. The air was thick with the flowers' aroma; Chara lifted their nose into the air and took in the scent, letting it fill them like a drink.

"It's so _colorful,_ " they said in awe. Their eyes roved around the room, eager to take in every bit of it.

"Yeah," Asriel chuckled. "It's mostly just gray around here. But this…" He too looked round the room with its hundreds of resplendent inhabitants, each one bathing in the sunbeams that shone from above. "This must be what the surface was like, huh?"

Chara shook their head, their chestnut hair reflecting the brightness that surrounded them. "I've never seen this many kinds of flowers in one place, not even on the surface." They looked curiously at Asriel. "How'd they all get here? I thought nothing grew down here."

"I don't know," said Asriel. "I've never asked. Hey, Dad?" Asriel turned to look behind him, where Asgore stood framed in the doorway. Chara turned too. They looked mildly surprised to see him there, as if they had forgotten he had come with them.

"Yeah, kiddo?" He regarded the pair of them, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"How'd you get so many different kinds of flowers?" Asriel asked. "Where'd the seeds come from?"

"You know of the surface chamber, of course," he said, surveying the legion of multicolored plants. "Though not many do. I visit it from time to time. It's a rather intriguing place, as it is connected directly to the surface. Nothing can get out, of course, not even through there," he said grimly. "I've heard tales of those who tried when the barrier was first erected…not pleasant. But in any case, things can get in…but you're probably aware of that already."

He nodded at Chara, who smiled tentatively.

"Anyhow," he continued, "one of the first times I ever visited the place, I saw that the ground was littered with seeds. I had heard, of course, the legends about the surface that have been circulating for so long. I longed to see the color that the surface had to offer. When I saw those seeds, I immediately scooped them up and took them back to the castle. I roped off a section of this room right here to be a makeshift garden. I got some soil from the banks of the river in Snowdin, and a watering can…your mother did some particularly impressive magic to create a suitable environment for the seeds to grow." He gazed reminiscently at the warm beams that illuminated the cavernous room. "After a while, the little garden bloomed. It left me speechless to see such vibrant natural beauty down here in the underground…you would think I'd've gotten used to it, after being married to your mother for all these years."

"Da-aaad," Asriel said, slightly red in the face. "The question, remember?"

"Right," Asgore said, sounding marginally more cheerful now. "Well, I couldn't very well leave the garden the way it was, not when the rest of the room was so nondescript and dull. So I returned to the surface chamber and hung some baskets on the walls so I could collect more seeds. There must be some strong wind on the part of the surface that connects to the chamber to blow the seeds around, because I got all shapes and sizes, not just the same kind every time."

"It was really windy some days, but most of the time it wasn't bad," Chara said, bending down to sniff a geranium. "I was out in that field a lot; I saw all kinds of days."

"Er…what field is this?" said Asgore inquiringly.

Chara straightened up, biting their lip. After a moment of deliberation, they said, "The field by the village where I lived. It's right at the base of the mountains where I…where I fell down here."

"Wait…you lived right by the entrance to the underground?" Asriel said, shocked at this new bit of information.

"Well, yeah," said Chara, nonplussed. "What, did you think I was in the middle of a cross-country trip when I fell down that hole?"

"But that means your village is _right above us,_ " Asriel said emphatically.

Chara raised their eyebrows slightly. "I guess it is. But what does that matter?"

"I just—I mean—" Asriel sputtered. "I thought you would have told us if your home was that close, is all."

"Yeah, well…" Chara mumbled, kicking at the dirt with one sneakered toe. "It doesn't matter. That place was never really a home to me anyway."

Asriel froze, unsure of what to say. This is not how he had imagined this scene playing out in his mind. Chara looked surly; Asgore stood awkwardly to the side, evidently as conflicted as his son. Asriel supposed that yet another battle was raging on in Asgore's mind. He had been so keen to take the simple route, to see Chara as nothing but a villain and a threat, but Asriel could see that his presupposed image of the child was quickly eroding. He wondered what Asgore had expected when he finally was in close quarters with Chara…perhaps a smooth, ripple-free exterior and an ever-present false cheeriness, trademarks of the cunning and manipulative. Whatever it was, it certainly had not been (despite how many times Asriel had told him) resentment, melancholy, and a sense of desperate longing, as if for something they had never had but desperately wanted to possess.

A most curious look lit up Asgore's eyes as he regarded Chara, whose head was bowed so that their face was hidden by a curtain of hair. They made a sudden impatient brushing movement, as if to wipe away an unwillingly shed tear, but when they spoke it was in a steady, composed voice.

"So, you were saying about the seeds?"

"Er...oh yeah," said Asgore, apparently torn between a desire to pursue the topic of Chara's emotions and to get as far away from the subject as possible. "I've got about fifty different types now. Of course, some of them are hybrids. I crossbred some surface flowers with Echo Flowers just to see what I'd get. In hindsight, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. I have an entire patch of daisies in the far corner that curse me out every time I go over to water them. I've also got roses, daffodils, hydrangeas, the works. But there's one flower that I have more of than any other type."

"What kind?" asked Chara.

Asgore beckoned. "I'll show you."

He set off into the sea of flowers. Asriel and Chara followed close behind, petals tickling their ankles as they walked toward the center of the room, where a tiny grove of wisteria trees grew close together, forming a kind of twisted gazebo. They came to a stop near the shaded entrance. Amongst the willowy purple blossoms stood two thrones, side-by-side. They were rather simplistic in design, constructed of gold with purple cushioning. The metal glinted softly in the shadowed interior of the alcove. However, something else caught Asriel's eye; something on the ground was shimmering through the gloom, softly, invitingly. Chara had seen it, too. The both of them crouched down to see more clearly. Upon closer inspection, Asriel found that the entire alcove was carpeted with golden flowers. Their petals gleamed in the semidarkness like sheets of gold leaf. There must have been hundreds and hundreds of them, all in that one little patch surrounding the thrones, winking and twinkling cheekily, almost as if they were alive.

"These are really cool!" Asriel said enthusiastically, turning towards Chara. "Hey Chara, what do you—?"

He was stunned into silence by what he saw. Chara had plucked one of the golden flowers; their eyes were closed, and with two hands they clasped the flower close to their chest, as if in prayer. They were crying, actually _crying,_ tears running in silent rivulets down their cheeks. However, they were smiling, perhaps wider than Asriel had ever seen them smile.

"What's wrong?" asked Asriel, not entirely certain if this was even the right question to ask.

"Nothing," said Chara thickly. "It's just—these are the exact flowers that grew in the patch I used to visit. I thought…I thought that I was never going to see them again. They're my favorite kind."

Asgore crouched down next to Chara, that curious expression still fixed in place. He too plucked a golden flower. He turned it over in his hand, watching the strangely luminescent petals glint and gleam in the half-light. "Mine, too."


	5. Family

"That school year seemed like it flew by, didn't it?" Chara remarked as they tipped a watering can into a small flowerpot on the windowsill. The golden flower danced a happy tango as it soaked up the moisture. Chara smiled fondly at the plant. It was a gift from Asgore, and from the moment he had awkwardly presented it to them they had been caring for it as if it were their own child. Asriel didn't know much about gardening, but he figured that Chara must have quite the green thumb. The aureate flower's petals still shone with the same soft luster they had on that day in the throne room.

"Speak for yourself," Asriel said amusedly from his spot on the bed. "It felt like an eternity to me. I guess it helps when you don't start until the year is already half over."

"And yet I'm still smarter than you," Chara joshed.

"Sure, sure, rub it in while you can," said Asriel, turning a page of the book he was reading. "In any case, I'm just glad we're done. I'm so ready for summer!"

"Speaking of summer," Chara said, plopping down on the bed next to Asriel, "what are we going to do?"

"I think that we are going on a picnic in Waterfall tomorrow, but after that, I don't know."

"Waterfall, huh?" Chara asked, sticking their bottom lip out as they pondered the name. "Have I ever been there?"

"Um…I don't think so."

"Weird," Chara said. "It's hard to believe that there are still places in the underground that I haven't seen, what with you dragging me around all the time."

"Oh come on, you know you had fun," Asriel said. Indeed, over the past few weeks he had taken it upon himself to be Chara's personal tour guide, introducing them to all the best places the underground had to offer. Every day after school the two of them had visited someplace different. They had perused the shelves of the public library, gotten double orders of hamburgers at Grillby's, and played a riveting game of Ball just outside Snowdin (Chara won). Perhaps Chara's favorite place he had showed them was the little shop just inside Snowdin's gates. A little smile crossed Asriel's face as he recalled the first time they had entered the shop's cramped but cozy interior.

"Hey there, Asriel," the shopkeeper said cheerfully as the high-pitched bell announcing his and Chara's arrival lapsed back into silence. "How are you doing?"

"Great, actually!" Asriel said, watching her scribble something into a ledger. She was a kindly-looking monster with white fur, a twitchy nose, and large fuzzy ears that stuck straight up; however, she also had shrewd eyes and a distinct no-nonsense air about her. She was dressed casually yet stylishly, a floppy sun hat perched jauntily on her head. "I've brought someone with me today."

"So I see," the shopkeeper said, putting down her pencil and leaning forward onto the counter, chin propped on her hand. She regarded Chara, who stared back silently, waiting for her to make the first move. "Friend from school?" She asked in a tone that made it all too clear she knew that this was not just a friend from school.

"Not exactly," said Asriel. "This is Chara, and, well…long story short, they're from the surface, but they are living with us."

"So you're an honorary Dreemurr, huh?" said the shopkeeper, bestowing a grin upon Chara. They relaxed noticeably at the gesture. "You couldn't have asked for a better family to stumble across. They'll take good care of you, no doubt."

"Asriel's been showing me around the underground lately," Chara said.

"That's right," Asriel chimed in. "And on the list for today is having some world-famous Cinnamon Bunnies!"

"Well, I don't know about 'world-famous,'" the shopkeeper chuckled. "But I do all right for myself. Especially when your father drops by! His current record is a dozen in one sitting, if I'm not very much mistaken."

"That's Dad," Asriel laughed.

"So, how many will you kids be wanting?" the shopkeeper said, picking up her pencil.

"We'll have a dozen," Asriel said, "and I'll be sure that Dad doesn't eat them all this time."

"Sounds good, hun," she said, marking the purchase down in her ledger. "That'll be 250 gold. Just wait here a second, and I can get you some buns hot out of the oven."

"Sure thing!" Asriel replied, and the shopkeeper slipped into the back of the shop. "So," he said, turning to Chara, "what do you think?"

"It smells really good in here," they answered.

"That it does." He took a whiff of the warm air, laden with the scent of cinnamon.

"But," they continued, their voice dropping to just above a whisper, "I'm not sure about the shopkeeper."

"Why not?" Asriel said curiously. "She's really nice!"

Chara shrugged. "I don't know what it is, she just…didn't seem to like me much." They shoved their hands into their pockets.

"I'm sure she likes you just fine," Asriel said, sidling closer to Chara, who was staring moodily at the floor. "It's just…well, no one had ever seen more than an illustration of a human until…until you came along. No one is quite sure how to react to meeting a real live human, but it doesn't mean they don't like you!"

"Asgore didn't like me at first," Chara said ominously. "And I'm not really sure what he thinks of me now. If the king of the underground reacted that way, why should other monsters be any different?"

Asriel let out a deep breath. "I know Dad hasn't been as welcoming as he should be, but he's got a lot on his plate right now. I'm not defending his earlier behavior, but I can understand why he acted the way he did. He hadn't taken the time to get to know you, and made hasty judgments. But I think he knows you a lot better now."

"Do _you_ feel like you know me?" Chara asked.

"Not completely," Asriel said. "But I'm trying to get to know you better all the time. That's why I drag you on all these outings. I want to know you as a person, and I want other monsters to know you as a person, too. Hopefully that way we can challenge those monsters' preconceptions and show them that humans and monsters don't have to be enemies. If they try, they can be friends."

"Like we are?" It was a question, not a statement. Chara gazed expectantly as Asriel, awaiting his answer.

"I can't speak for you," he said, "but I have considered you a friend for a long time. In fact, you're more than that. You're my sibling, and I'll never stop looking out for you."

"You're so sentimental," Chara said.

"I guess I am," Asriel conceded. "But what I said is the truth."

"Here you go, one dozen cinnamon bunnies!" announced the shopkeeper, reappearing with a brown box adorned with red ribbon. Asriel was so busy thanking her and counting out correct change that he failed to notice Chara's expression: a curious blend of disbelief, confusion, and happiness that even they could not fully explain.

"Tra la la. Where will you be travelling today?" The towering hooded figure spoke in a distant, melancholy voice, as if it were lost in thought.

"We're heading to Waterfall," said Asgore as he led Toriel, Asriel, and Chara onto the bobbing raft, a gigantic picnic basket swinging in his hand. Asriel, who had ridden on this raft many times before and was accustomed to the River Person's eccentricities, did not think twice about boarding. Chara, however, lingered on the bank, staring apprehensively at the specter-like figure at the bow.

"Is this safe?" Chara whispered in an undertone, glancing warily at the back of the figure's hooded head.

"It's fine, I've ridden on here loads of times," Asriel said reassuringly. Chara nodded and stepped cautiously onto the raft, misgivings still evident on their face. As soon as Chara's feet made contact with the deck the raft glided away, cutting smoothly through the ribbon of dark black water at a surprisingly speedy clip, without motor or oar to propel it.

Asriel chided himself a bit. Perhaps it was because the few months Chara had been with them felt more like years, but Asriel often forgot that Chara was not accustomed to monsters or magic like he was, having grown up around them. Of course, they had grown accustomed to some things, like Toriel powering the stove with fire magic rather than gasoline and the mysterious beams of light that illuminated the underground by day. However, other things like the River Person still came as a shock. Asriel could immediately understand why. Even though he had in fact ridden on this raft many times, the River Person still made him feel uneasy. No one, as far as he knew, had ever seen the River Person's face; it always stared straight ahead with its back to the passengers, and those who had ventured to try and catch a glimpse of its face reported that they could only see darkness beneath the hood, as if its face was not a face at all, but rather a black hole. The only distinguishing feature was its voice, which was at once doleful and playful, like a comedian on his deathbed. Asriel had had very little conversation with the River Person, and when it did speak, its sentences were punctuated with preoccupied "tra-la-las," as if its concerns were on a higher plane of existence.

"Tra la la…tri li li…" hummed the River Person as the raft sped along, quite oblivious to the passengers behind it. Chara focused intensely on Asriel's face in a conscious effort not to look at the River Person's looming figure.

"So…" they began. "Waterfall. I haven't heard much about it…what's it like?"

"Well…there's lots of water…and it falls."

"Fascinating."

Asriel laughed. "There's a reason I haven't told you lots about it, you know. I want it to be a surprise, you know?"

"First the throne room, now this," Chara smirked. "You sure have a taste for theatrics, don't you?"

"You got me there."

"Tra la la. We have arrived at Waterfall," announced the River Person. Chara was the first off the boat. As Asriel followed his parents onto the bank, he noticed a most unusual thing. He had never seen the River Person so much as twitch, but now its head turned slowly, deliberately, and Asriel knew that if he could have made out its eyes, they would have been fixed intently on Chara.

"Tra la la…the angel is here…" it murmured softly. Asriel stiffened. He glanced toward his parents and Chara, but none of them showed any sign of having heard the proclamation. Asriel shook his head slightly to make sure he wasn't imagining things, and by the time he had reoriented himself, the River Person had vanished from sight.

"That was a great lunch, Mom!" Asriel said, flopping backwards onto the blanket. They had chosen to picnic just inside Waterfall's antechamber, a large, flat rocky expanse framed by smooth walls and a ceiling so high and clouded in swirling mist that Asriel could barely make it out. The distant sounds of flowing water filled him with a sense of calm.

"I second that. Excellent as always, Tori," Asgore nodded his approval as he polished off the remains of his fourteenth sandwich.

"Thank you," said Chara, though they had hardly touched their sandwich, which sat forlornly on its plate. Apparently their encounter with the River Man had dulled their appetite.

"Oh, it was my pleasure," Toriel said, smiling around at them all. "I'm so glad we're finally getting to do something together as a family. Life has been so hectic lately, with the end of the school year and royal duties and all…it's nice to have a day to relax."

"And this is the perfect place to do it! I love it here," Asriel said, gazing at the undulating mists above him. "Why haven't we come here before?"

"Well," said Asgore, flicking a stray piece of bologna from his shirt, "Waterfall isn't exactly the safest place, so we didn't come here much when you were a kid. I can't imagine having to explain to your mother that I let you fall off a cliff." His amused smile suddenly faded into something more serious. "There have also been…stories…about Waterfall," he continued, his deep voice laced with uncertainty. "I have heard speculation….word-of-mouth…I don't know how much to believe, actually. There have been reports of strange goings-on here for as long as I have been king, probably even before that."

"You mean Waterfall's _haunted?_ " Asriel gaped.

"Not exactly haunted…but something like that," Asgore said vaguely. "Hey, I brought along our gloves. Want to throw a bit?"

The abrupt change of subject made Asriel suspicious that Asgore was not being entirely truthful. However, the impending game of catch was a much more pressing matter at the moment. "Of course!" He clambered up, and the pair made their way to a spot well away from the picnic blanket and began to toss the ball back and forth.

Chara hugged their knees as they watched the repetitive, hypnotic motion of the ball's flight. The _pop_ it made when it hit the glove reverberated through the cavernous space. It was a lonely sound, Chara thought, a fading echo that was soon forgotten. Or perhaps it only seemed like that to Chara because they had been thinking about loneliness a lot lately. Even though Asriel had made every effort to make them feel included, even though they had gone on daily adventures together for weeks on end, Chara still felt isolated from the three Dreemurrs. On a good day, Chara was able to put the matter out of mind. Lately, on the other hand…they had been wondering what the point of it all was. Asriel, Toriel, and (to an extent) Asgore had all put forth their best efforts to let Chara know that they belonged. _I'm so glad we're finally getting to do something together as a family,_ Toriel had said. Family… _am I family?_ Chara pondered. They sure didn't feel like family, and what an ill recompense these feelings were for the hospitality and generosity the Dreemurrs had shown. The thought made Chara's insides clench with guilt.

"You can go join them, you know." It was Toriel, once again extending kindness that Chara would not be able to repay.

"I don't want to mess up their game," Chara said sullenly. "Asgore and Asriel don't get to spend much one-on-one time anymore, so I don't want to intrude."

"Asriel loves spending time with you," Toriel said, surveying Chara concernedly. "Asgore does, too."

Chara let out a disbelieving laugh. "He sure has a funny way of showing it. I was under the impression that he tries to avoid me as much as possible."

Toriel looked uneasy. "I'm sure he's not trying to do that, Chara…he's very busy most of the time, as you know…"

"When I first got here," Chara plowed ahead, ignoring Toriel's last remark, "he was downright cold. It's gotten a little better since I've been here a while, but it seems like a huge stretch to say that he loves spending time with me. No," Chara said bitterly. "To him, I'll always be the human that came and wrecked his perfect family."

"Don't be silly, of course you haven't wrecked anything. None of us believe that, not Asgore, not anyone!" Toriel said forcefully, her eyes overbright. "Asgore just…well, I don't want to make excuses, but you are the very first human to set foot in the underground since the war hundreds of years ago, and frankly, people aren't sure how to act. The monsters that live here today have spent their whole lives hearing stories about that war, and the awful deeds that both monsters and humans committed during that time. Because of that, a lot of people are scared of humans, or prejudiced against them. I don't believe that humans are horrible creatures, I don't believe it at all, but I cannot change the fact that these preconceptions exist…and that even the best among us can fall victim to them. I can't and I won't deny that Asgore was scared at first…but you have proved to him that humans are not all the same, and he is sincerely trying to connect with you, and definitely does _not_ think you have wrecked anything."

"Wait a minute…there was a war between humans and monsters?" Chara said incredulously. "What…when you say 'awful deeds,' what kind of things do you mean?"

Toriel bit her lip, evidently not wanting to discuss this particular subject while on a family picnic. "Well…many things, on both sides…but probably most relevant to you," she said with a resigned sigh, "is that the barrier was put in place by seven human magicians. It was put in place after monsterkind had been defeated, to ensure that a war like that never broke out again."

Barrier…that word clicked in Chara's memory. Asgore had mentioned it in passing while they were in the throne room, but they had been too focused on the flowers to dwell on it much at that time.

"And that's why I can't leave," Chara said slowly.

"I'm sorry, Chara," said Toriel, a hint of tearfulness in her voice. "I really should have been straight with you from the beginning, but…you never asked why, and I was content not to tell you. But yes, the barrier only goes one way. You can come in, but you can't go out."

"But wait," Chara began, a second memory rising to the surface of their mind. "When I first came here, Asriel mentioned something about me being a…a crossroads, or something." They began to twist the hem of their shirt, kneading the fabric with their fingers. "I wasn't listening very closely, because I was a bit upset with him. But he mentioned a….a prophecy." The memory returned with sudden clarity as Chara pictured the conversation in their head. "He said… _'The Angel, the One Who Has Seen the Surface, will return, and the underground will go empty.'"_

Toriel looked positively taken aback. "Asriel told you that? But how did he…" She shook her head. "W-well, in any case, I wouldn't worry about it, Chara. That prophecy has been passed around from person to person for as long as I can remember. Its origins are dubious, it may not even be real…"

"What does it mean?" Chara asked.

"Mean? Well…it means that this angel it refers to, whoever that may be, will break the barrier and set the monsters in the underground free. It means," her voice grew a bit stronger, "that this angel will bridge the gap between humans and monsters, allowing them to at last live in peace."

"But the prophecy never mentions anything about the barrier—"

"Don't set much store by this prophecy, Chara," Toriel said gently, but with an irrefutable finality. "Like I said, it may not even be real…goodness knows we have all been down here long enough, people are bound to have created some reason to hold onto hope, it's what we do…" She smiled down at Chara and ruffled their hair, attempting to dispel the tension. "Please, Chara, don't dwell on it. What matters is that you are part of our family now, and we all care very much about you."

Chara nodded assent, but their mind was still buzzing with the things they had heard. Toriel may not have set much store by the prophecy, but Asriel certainly did…but how had Asriel known about the prophecy? Toriel obviously hadn't told him. Perhaps Asgore had told him. Asgore…Chara clenched their fists. They didn't know what to think about Asgore. When they considered the information Toriel had divulged, the story of the war and the atrocities that had been committed, they could finally understand why Asgore acted the way he had. However, that understanding did not completely dispel the resentment that Chara felt. Hadn't they proven over these past few months that they were trustworthy? Had they ever antagonized Asgore in any way? And yet, Chara thought bitterly, he still treats me like something to be avoided, a blemish on the family he loved so dearly.

"I think Asriel's calling you over," said Toriel, cutting across Chara's brooding silence.

"Is he?" Chara said. They thought it was a lie, but when they looked up, Asriel was indeed calling their name while waving his arm frantically in invitation.

"Go on, play catch a bit," she said encouragingly. "I know you're uncertain about Asgore, but really, I think it's because you haven't spent much time together. Go on," she repeated when Chara didn't move. "You two are actually quite similar. I'm sure you'll strike a chord before you know it."

"Then why has he been avoiding me?" Chara countered.

"Are you sure you haven't been the one avoiding him?" Toriel said.

"CHARA! C'mon, throw with us!" Asriel yelled, his voice filling the cavern. Chara looked at Toriel, who proffered a third baseball glove. They took it slowly, with great consideration, as if it were made of spun glass rather than leather. After a moment's pause, they turned on their heel and ran off to join Asriel and Asgore.

The picnic basket had been packed up, the blanket folded and stowed away. Chara punched the pocket of their glove absentmindedly, staring across the vast rocky expanse, towards the spot from which the distant sounds of flowing water issued. Playing catch had been surprisingly fun. Throwing the ball had allowed Chara to vent some of their emotions, and Asgore had even commented on their arm. "Have you considered joining the baseball team?" he said, sounding impressed. "They could use a good pitcher!" Now that they were about to leave, however, Chara's racing thoughts had returned in full force.

 _Toriel doesn't seem to think the prophecy is real,_ they mused, _but Asriel definitely did. One of them has to be right. And if it's Asriel…then I'm the angel._ But that couldn't be true…Asriel must be mistaken. After all, Chara did not possess any magical powers like the monsters did, nor any hidden abilities that made them extraordinary in any way. Indeed, they didn't even seem to be able to feel as acutely as a normal person. How, then, could Asriel _possibly_ believe that Chara was the one of whom the prophecy spoke? But even though Chara could not believe that they were the angel, they desperately wanted to be. Every day spent with the Dreemurrs increased Chara's growing debt to them, and soon it would be too vast to repay. If they were the angel, if they did have the power to free the monsters, they could instantly balance the scale…but no. Thinking about things that could never happen was unhealthy, like a corrosive poison; that was why Chara had given up the hope of a happy life on the surface. _But it didn't end as I expected,_ Chara thought, trembling slightly, staring blankly at the rocky landscape ahead but not taking in any of it. _I ended up here, alive, didn't I? I am the one who has seen the surface…the only one. Doesn't that mean it's got to be me?_

"Hey, Chara!" said a cheerful voice quite at odds with the Chara's frantic thoughts. "We're all packed up. Are you ready to go?"

They shuddered slightly at the prospect of another ride with the River Person. "Yeah…yeah, I am."

"Oh wait!" said Asriel suddenly. "You wanted to see an Echo Flower, right?"

"Oh…yes, I would," said Chara, who had completely forgotten the strange flower that Loox had mentioned months ago. "How did you remember that I had wanted to see them?"

Asriel shrugged. "I dunno…I remember a lot of stuff you say. But anyway, we might as well see one while we are here! I'm sure mom and dad won't mind us spending a few more minutes here. Hey, mom!"

A short while later Asriel had secured permission from his parents and had led Chara eagerly by the hand toward the sound of running water. With every step they took the rushing grew louder and louder, until the pair rounded a twist in the rocky path and the waterfall came into sight. It was enormous, rising at least a hundred feet into the air, pounding the rocks at the bottom with a deafening roar. A short wooden bridge spanned the narrow stream where the water from the first fall emptied into a second. Asriel could see why his dad had said this place was dangerous…he felt dizzy just staring at the second fall, where water cascaded hundreds of stories down, its destination shrouded in utter darkness.

If the waterfalls were dazzling, they were nothing compared to the flora that blanketed the craggy bank. Legions of Echo Flowers grew here, glowing a bright, bioluminescent blue, bathing the area in a beautiful, haunting light. They were so bright that Asriel's eyes began to water; when he blinked, little blue spots clouded his vision. And was it his imagination, or was a faint rushing sound issuing from the mass of flowers, as though they were a second stream running alongside the first?

Asriel picked one and held it up to his ear. Sure enough, the sound of running water was echoed there. "Chara, check this out!" he said, offering the flower to them. Chara took it and turned it over in their fingers, examining it with a wonder-filled expression.

"It's not talking," said Chara, running a thumb along one of the glowing petals.

"This one isn't talking, no," Asriel said, "but listen closely."

Chara leaned in close. "It sounds like the stream."

"I guess not many people have been in here," Asriel reasoned. "All they have to echo is the water."

"Kind of like a seashell," Chara said, ear still pressed to the Echo Flower. "From the surface. They make the same sound."

Chara's reference to the surface made Asriel feel suddenly guilty. "I'm sorry, Chara," he blurted. "I know down here doesn't compare to the surface. We don't have fields of flowers, or open sky, or even real sunlight…even our most beautiful places are dark and—"

"Don't apologize," said Chara. "Especially for that. How can you say the underground doesn't compare, when you've got places like this? I've never seen anything like this." Their eyes swept the area once more, the luminous water and flowers standing out in sharp relief against the wet, black stone. "Please don't put down your home just because it's different than the surface. Don't assume that things on the surface are better than things here."

"Oh," said Asriel awkwardly. "Right."

The two stood in silence for a few moments, the sound of rushing water filling Asriel's eardrums.

"I know you believe this prophecy you told me about…" Chara said quietly, their head bowed, bangs obscuring their eyes in shadow. "I know you believe me to be important in some way. But I'm not. I'm not the angel you're hoping for, Asriel. I can't break the barrier, I can't mend the feud between monsters and humans. And sometimes I wonder," they continued, turning slightly away, to avoid Asriel's avid gaze, "if it's better this way. Monsters seem to have this idea that the surface is some picture-perfect paradise, and if they reach it all their problems will be solved. But that's not true. The surface is a screwed-up place. If I had the choice between here or there, I would choose here in an instant."

"I agree," said Asriel gingerly, sensing a sort of fragility in Chara's words. "Getting to the surface won't solve all our problems. You said you'd choose here over the surface in an instant. Well…monsterkind never had that choice. It was decided for us by those humans who cast the spell. And really, that's all we want. Not a solution. Just a choice."

"Either way," Chara said thickly, "I can't help you the way you seem to think I can."

"Chara, I'm not going to pretend I know exactly what the prophecy means," said Asriel heavily, rubbing his temple. "I don't. But maybe you don't need to have any special powers or abilities to be the angel. Maybe your role in this whole prophecy business is what you are doing right now…being a part of our family, showing the monsters what humans are really like."

"Perhaps it is…" Chara whispered. But even if that was the case, the role would not be any easier. Chara could no more make themself feel included in the Dreemurr family than summon a blast of magic to destroy the barrier.

"We should head back," Asriel said nervously. "Mom and dad are probably wondering where we are."

As the two began to make their way back, Chara spoke again in a strangled sort of whisper. "I wish I could do more for you. I really do. After all you've done for me…"

"It's okay," said Asriel, sidling closer to Chara's side. "After all, what's family for?"

They didn't speak another word for the remainder of the walk back to Toriel and Asgore. The only sound was the Echo Flower grasped in Chara's left hand, which had ceased echoing the voice of the sea in order to repeat a single word over and over again: _"family…family…family…"_


End file.
